Science and Enterprise

Tag: solar

  • Solar Developer, Lab Build Power Transport Technology

    New Energy Technologies Inc. in Columbia, Maryland and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado have collected and transported electricity with a conductive wiring system built for the company’s product that generates solar power through window glass. NREL is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. The company’s main product is a type of…

  • Student Devises Lithium Battery for Solar Energy Storage

    A joint research project between a graduate student at University of Southampton in the U.K. and the company REAPSystems, also in Southampton, has resulted in a battery that can help improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power. REAPSystems was founded by Dennis Doerffel, himself a former Southampton researcher and now the company’s…

  • Online Simulator Optimizes Solar Cell Materials Efficiency

    An online tool offered by MIT helps companies and researchers determine the tradeoffs in manufacturing strategies for solar cells based on planned materials and processing steps. The simulator, which takes about a minute to run, can provide a preview of the efficiency of resulting solar cells in converting sunlight to electricity, a process previously determined…

  • Maryland Utility to Purchase Solar Contest Winning House

    The electric utility company Pepco says it will purchase the WaterShed house that won the 2011 Solar Decathlon contest in October. The house was built by faculty and students at the University of Maryland in College Park, its current location. The 2011 Solar Decathlon pitted 20 teams representing institutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and…

  • Cleantech Investment Volume Up, Deal Numbers Down in 2011

    Global investment dollars in clean technologies increased in 2011 from the previous year, but the number investment deals declined somewhat, according to the industry research company CleanTech Group in San Francisco. Clean technologies, as defined by Cleantech Group, include renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as energy efficiency, pollution control, infrastructure…

  • Electronics Show to Feature Science Start-Up Exhibits

    The 2012 CES in Las Vegas, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, will feature an exhibit of start-up companies and technologies emerging from research and development, including small businesses funded by National Science Foundation. The exhibit, called Eureka Park, is a collaboration of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Startup America Partnership, CNET, and UK…

  • Nanotech Solar Energy Paint Developed

    Researchers at University of Notre Dame in Indiana have created an inexpensive paste made with semiconducting nanoparticles to produce a spreadable substance that can generate energy. The work of chemistry professor Prashant Kamat and colleagues is described in the 6 December issue of the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). Kamat’s team based the compound…

  • Report: Electrical Grid Needs Technology, Regulatory Changes

    The electrical power grid in the U.S. faces significant changes in technology over the next two decades, says a new report from the MIT Energy Initiative, but the grid also needs regulatory, economic, and security upgrades to meet these changes. The authors — 13 MIT faculty members plus one author from Harvard — discussed the…

  • Copper Compound Nanoparticles Advance Battery Electrodes

    Materials scientists at Stanford University in California have developed a new, longer-lasting battery electrode with crystalline nanoparticles of a copper compound. Their discovery, with implications for solar and wind energy storage on the power grid, is described this week in the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). According to the authors — materials science professor…

  • Airport Runway De-Icing System Developed with Solar Panels

    Engineering researchers at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville are developing an anti-icing system that could make airport runways safer and less expensive to maintain during winter months. The team led by civil engineering professor Ernie Heymsfield are now testing components of the system at the university’s Engineering Research Center in south Fayetteville. The approach uses…